www.wcbstv.com 20 May 2009
Reported by Kirstin Cole (CBS)
“Believe It Or Not ‘Tanorexia’ A Very Real Problem”
University Study Reveals Credible Evidence That One Can Get Addicted To Sun-Tanning Like With Drugs, Alcohol.
Women in search of the perfect tan are going to extremes to get that sun-kissed glow. CBS 2 HD has more on “tanorexia.”
You know the risks.
“I wear a lot of sunscreen,” said Kennedy Carruthers of the West Village.
“I’ve seen some women who are addicted to tanning and it’s not very healthy,” added Kate Cosgrove of Cincinnati.
Still, for many, having a perfectly bronzed body is the ultimate goal.
“Everyone tells me you know you’re going to regret it 10 years from now,” Jamie George said.
George said she’s addicted, hitting the tanning bed up to three times a week and spending $3,000 a year.
“A tanorexic, I definitely would be guilty,” George said.
And tanorexia is considered a real condition.
There is evidence to support a tanning addiction. A recent large university study found 25 percent of respondents showed some signs of being addicted, with symptoms similar to those of drug and alcohol dependent individuals.
This may explain why George and so many others are conflicted by their behavior. Statistics show skin cancer is the most common, accounting for at least half of all cancers.
“You know that it’s going to harm you but you can’t give it up,” George said.
Then there’s Melanotan. It’s an injectible drug that promises a safer way to tan. No baking, no faking. It works by boosting your body’s levels of melanin, the pigment that controls the color of your skin.
The problem is its illegal.
“It’s possible that several thousand people have used it,” Dr. Ross Levy told CBS 2 HD.
Like them, CBS 2 HD easily bought it online for $40. What’d we get?
“This is all I got, no instruction, nothing. Just a vial with no label on it,” Dr. Levy said.
Levy said Melanotan could one day be as big as Botox. He was shocked we were able to buy it before it’s even been tested.
“There is not a doctor in this country that would really know how to do this,” Levy said.
Still there are countless reports of women injecting this illegal drug themselves in a desperate desire to achieve the perfect tan.
“Something about injecting is a little scary but I mean if it lessens the chance of skin cancer it would be something I would look into,” George said.
While not approved in the United States, Levy said Melanotan is currently being tested in Australia.
Levy said Melanotan is at least five years away from being approved in the U.S.
Source: CBS
There’s an article that was published by Wired Science in January of this year that is very related to this news.
Here it is: “Suntan Drug Greenlighted for Trials”
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/01/tan/
It covers the news that an Australian company has gotten the go ahead from the FDA to conduct human trials of melanotan-1 (generic name “afamelanotide”) as a medicine in the U.S.
Cheers
Great addition! Thanks for your input!
Would folks reading this entry be interested in an update?
melanotan-1 (afamelanotide / Scenesse) has been approved in Italy as a medicine to treat sufferers of EPP:
Here is the news